I happened to be reading and came across this gem:
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He saith also again concerning our ears how he hath circumcised our heart. The Lord saith in the prophet, They have hearkened unto me with the hearing of their ears; and again, he saith, They that are afar off shall hear with their ears; they shall know what I have done; and be ye circumcised, saith the Lord, in your heart; and again, Hear, O Israel, for thus saith the Lord thy God; and again the Spirit of the Lord prophesied, Who is he that wisheth to live for ever? let him hearken unto the voice of my Son.
And again he saith, Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken these things for a testimony. And again he saith, Hearken unto the voice of the Lord, ye rulers of this people. And again he saith, Hearken ye children unto the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
To this end, therefore, hath he circumcised our hearing, that when we hear his word, we should believe; for the circumcision in which they trust is done away with.
For he hath said that circumcision is not that which was made in the flesh; but they have transgressed, for an evil angel hath deluded them. He saith unto them, These things saith the Lord your God, —here I find a new commandment—Sow not among thorns, but be ye circumcised unto your Lord. And what saith he? Circumcise the hardness of your hearts, and harden not your neck. And again, Behold, saith the Lord, all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in their foreskin, but this people is uncircumcised in their hearts.
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Who is this Calvinistic writer? Who is it that believes that God circumcised our hearing, that when we hear his word, we should believe? The answer is the author of the Epistle of Barnabas (usually thought not actually to be written by the companion of Paul).
Our knowledge of the content of the book is largely thanks to its inclusion in the Codex Sinaiticus, and has been dated to the first or second century (generally between A.D. 70 - 150).
The translation above is Charles Hoole's (I have not verified its accuracy against the Greek) and is available via Google Books here (link).
Praise be to God for the Irresistable grace of Circumcision of heart, mind, eyes, and ears,
-Turretinfan
Friday, February 22, 2008
2 comments:
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yes and just think, no meds before cuttings!
ReplyDeleteI believe Mike Horton has culled some material from the Fathers that are decidedly "Calvinistic" in his book, Putting the Amazing Back Into Grace.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few I have at hand:
"God has hath completed the number which He before determined with Himself, all those who are written, or ordained unto eternal life...being predestined indeed according to the love of the Father that we would belong to Him forever." (Iranaeus)
"If you died in unbelief, Christ did not die for you." (Anselm)
"Since only the elect are saved, it may be accepted that Christ did not come to save all and did not die on the cross for all." (Remigius)